ROBERTSDALE, Ala. — Debra Wall used to have a collection of old measuring cups, a legacy from her late mother. They were on top of the cabinets in her kitchen,

No more. A fast moving fire destroyed most of the Robertsdale home Wall shared with her husband, Tony and their sons, Austin, 17, a senior at Robertsdale High and Dustin, 6, a kindergarten student at Robertsdale Elementary.

“Everything I have of hers is gone,” said Wall, voice tightening.

“But, I know I have her right here,” she continued, tapping her chest.

Wall is grateful to have her family at this time.

Everybody got out of the house just fine. The family’s pets, dogs Munchkin, Abby, Argus and Rosie also escaped the fire. Dustin’s 4-month-old kitten, Oreo, is curious and bouncing off the furniture of Debra’s in-laws, Anna and Austin Wall.

The the family’s pet goat, Daisy, is also fine and is living in the fenced yard of the St. Paul Street home until the family can make better arrangements for her.

Space is tight at the elder Wall’s trim home on US 90, and family members are sleeping on a mattress in what was the “toy room,” but they are managing.

“We are so very lucky,” said Debra.

It was a normal night Dec. 10. Wall arrived home from her job managing a Dollar General Store in Stapleton. She had stopped for some groceries, and left her purse in her car.

“They are charred groceries now,” said Anna Wall, sharing a moment of grim humor with her daughter-in-law.

Tony Wall has Parkinson's disease, and does not work outside the home. He got dinner for the boys and the kitchen had not been in use for hours. Despite the boys needing uniforms washed, Debra says she did not do any laundry. The family Christmas tree was up, and Anna Wall recalls it being beautifully decorated.

“It’s still there,” said Debra resignedly. “It’s all brown now.”

“I was beat. I brought home some take-out and had that,.” Debra said of that last night in her home. She estimates that she got home a few hours before the fire. The family was asleep at 1:30 a.m. Dec. 11 when the fire started.

“Thank goodness for smoke alarms,” said Debra. Tony Wall went to investigate the disturbance.

He discovered part of the kitchen and utility room in flames.

“Tony came back, trying to get to a phone,” said Debra. “I said, honey. let’s just get out. I realized we had to get out.”

There was just enough time to grab Dustin and the indoor dogs and cat (Debra said the animals slept with her and Tony) and run out to the back of the house. Austin heard the alarm and went out the only way he could — through the front window.

Being separated caused the family some consternation — Debra recalls Tony returning to the house hoping to find Austin, but the family was quickly reunited. Debra thought one of the dogs, Abby, had run back into the house, but it was “too hot and smoky” to find the animal, which was later found outside.

“We all met up in the front yard,” aid Debra.

Remembering she left her purse in her car, Debra retrieved it and used her cell phone to call 911. The keys to the family’s vehicles, all on hooks near the front door, melted.

The Robertsdale Volunteer Fire Department responded quickly to the fire, and Debra recalls the Silverhill Volunteer Fire Department coming to the scene.

“They were just so nice,” Debra said of the firefighters.

There was just three things missing - the two outside dogs, Argus and Rosie and the goat, Daisy. They were found huddled under the house, scared by all the noise and confusion.

Seated in the living room of the elder Wall’s home, Debra says she’s been too busy at work to think much about her family’s situation.

“I’m too busy at work,” said Debra. “I’m just trying to get through Christmas.”

“There’s not much that is salvageable,” said Debra. “Everything that was high is singed or melted.”

“Everything is wet,” said Anna Wall.

The kitchen and utility room of the house are completely burned out, said Debra, and the rest of the dwelling has extensive smoke and water damage. While she does not know what officials say, she believes older wiring (the house was built in the 1950s) may have played a role.

Debra says that while there was some insurance on the house, it won’t be enough.

“I was trying to save a little money,” said Debra.

“There’s no chance of rebuilding it (the house),” said Anna.

“We just have to see what the insurance does,” said Debra. “Then we can see where we can go.”

A fund, the Wall Family Fire Fund, has been established at local RBC banks, and the Robertsdale Habitat for Humanity store is accepting donations for the family. So far, they have clothes, but will, as Debra says, “need everything else” to furnish a new place.

Still, Debra is counting her blessings.

“We are all safe, and we are all together,” she said. “It could have been so much worse.”